The Mystery of the Nine Vanishing Princes
by Kierielle Huntington
Summary: Fairytale AU. Nancy may be a commoner, but she is certain she can answer Queen Laura's challenge and discover where it is the princes sneak off to at night. However, she finds that things aren't as simple as she initially thought, and as the Crown Prince Ned grows mysteriously ill, Nancy finds she may be the only one who can save the royal family from disaster.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This AU story is sort of a blend of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" and "Kate Crackernuts." Inspiration struck; what can I say? ;)

 _This story is dedicated to the Javelin and the Lance. Love you two!_

 _{You know the drill; I neither own Nancy Drew nor The Hardy Boys. ;) }_

* * *

Queen Laura stared out the window and sighed.

Her sons.

Her brilliant, _wild_ sons were somehow escaping the bounds of the castle and coming back every morning tired and with muddied shoes. All of them: Frank, Joe, Biff, Phil, Chet, Tony, Bert, Dave...even Ned.

She had asked them where they were off at.

They diverted the conversation. This had gone on for a fortnight.

She trusted them enough to believe they weren't off doing anything to soil their honor, but she was getting very worried.

Ned, her eldest, the heir to the throne, was growing paler by the day. Something was _wrong._ The other boys didn't seem to notice. Well, except Frank, and perhaps Joe (those two missed nothing, though).

And so she had issued the challenge - she had no other choice.

 **~NN~**

"I'm going to do it!"

Bess sighed. "Yes, well, Nancy -"

"What? It's _duty._ I am _certain_ I can discover where they go, and the queen needs assistance."

George rolled her eyes. "And we aren't saying you cannot, but be reasonable. Ladies far older than you have _failed_."

"And when has that pitiful excuse ever stopped me before? I am the daughter of the best scout in the _kingdom_ and I…" Nancy trailed off, realizing how over-confident she sounded. "I mean…"

"You mean you are the best there ever was or shall ever be?" Bess teased. The cousins exchanged a glance and then smiled knowingly at Nancy.

"You better go answer the challenge," George said, grinning.

 **~NN~**

Nancy bowed deeply before Queen Laura. "I thank you for granting me audience, your majesty."

The Queen gave a tired nod. She was a beautiful woman, her face kind and lively and her figure barely even hinting at the nine children she'd borne. But still, it was clear that the past days had taken a toll on her spirits.

"I am here to accept the challenge of discovering where it is your sons disappear to at night."

Queen Laura's delicate eyebrows came up. "Are you, my dear?" Her voice was kindly, but she was obviously surprised.

Nancy nodded immediately. "I am."

"And do you know how many have tried and failed at this task?"

"Not the exact number, your Majesty, but I understand it is quite a few." For the first time, Nancy wondered if George had a point.

"More than a few. Nearly a dozen. And they were all much older than you." Though her words were condescending, her tone was not - she sounded almost...hopeful.

Nancy smiled, giddy with the thrill of a challenge.

 **~NN~**

Nancy was dressed in a grey maid's gown that was slightly too big for her. Queen Laura had given it to her as a disguise. And she indeed felt like a different person in it, it was so different than the cheery yellow gowns she normally wore. The grey made her feel mature.

She waited by the door to the princes' _enormous_ chambers. The queen had explained that the princes each had their own bedchamber, but they all connected to a center chamber where they spent most of their indoor time.

She had also been given a master key to all the west wings' chambers, which she had no inhibitions in using. She had always liked snooping. And it was for a good cause!

She unlocked a door across the hall from their rooms and waited until the laughing and loud brotherly chitchat died down (some) from the center chamber. Then she slipped out and pressed her ear up against their thick door and listened.

Their voices were hushed. Too hushed to really make out what they were saying.

Then...a sound so strange that she blinked (as if _that_ could clear her hearing).

It...it sounded like _sparkling._

Then, loud, boyish footsteps, and then...more _sparkling..._ and then silence.

Nancy wasted no time. She wrenched the key into the lock and burst through the heavy door - _and nobody was in the room._

Nobody. At all.

She pivoted around the chamber - there were the doors to the bedchambers, of course, but she knew in her gut that they hadn't stomped of into any of those rooms. _How_ could this happen...? She took a step back, thinking hard - and stumbled over a golden scepter.

Her gaze trailed from the scepter to the flagstones and back again.

She hesitated no more than half a second before she picked the scepter and gently tapped the scepter to an abnormally large flagstone.

Nothing.

She laid in on top and held her breath.

Nothing.

Then she squinted.

Smiled.

And took the scepter, slowly traced the outline of the large flagstone and waited.

The outline began to _sparkle._ Golden, glittering, undeniably _magic._

"I guess it was locked," she murmured.

 **~NN~**

Nancy couldn't believe what she saw.

After descending the _stairway_ that appeared in the midst of the sparking magical opening, she found herself in a magic forest. Silver trees, jeweled trees, gold trees...emerald grass...it was an enchanted forest.

She had caught up to the princes - they hadn't strayed from the golden path. She stayed back far enough that they couldn't see her unless they knew to look. A golden-haired prince, Prince Joe, she realized, glanced back like he suspected something, but he only did it once. She dared not get any closer when the princes got into sleek little boats and rowed away.

She would surely be seen if she tried to follow them now.

So she turned back. She would have to some up with a plan.

 **~NN~**

Bess beamed. "Finally, you're asking me for fashion advice!"

Nancy tried to calm her friend down. " _Only_ because I need to remain _unseen - "_

Bess whipped a cloak out of her mahogany wardrobe. It was a gorgeous, deep blue. "Now, why _anyone_ would want to be 'unseen' by the nine most eligible young men in the kingdom, I shall never know." She shot Nancy a pointed look. "But since you are my dear friend, I suppose I will loan you my family's prized invisible cloak."

"Thank you," Nancy said archly.

Bess grinned and swung the cloak around Nancy's shoulders.

She laughed and gave Bess a warm, grateful, invisible hug.

She was prepared now.

* * *

Review if you're enjoying! :) It may be a few days until I update - school and work are taking up a lot of time - but this _will_ update _._ ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** A special thanks to the Lance, who helped to give this story major direction. :)

* * *

The very next night, Nancy followed them down again, this time shielded in the Invisible Cloak of the House of Marvin.

She slipped into Prince Chet's boat, figuring no one would notice the extra weight.

They rowed for several minutes - and then a gorgeous palace as bejeweled as the forest appeared in the distance.

The palace was lovely. _Sparkling._ Magnificent. But they didn't go to the palace.

Instead, they tied the boats and walked into a glorious pavilion. Nancy scrambled out of Prince Chet's boat to follow them.

And as she climbed the steps to the pavilion, she was so stunned that had she been a less-skilled, less-perceiving challengee, she would have gasped.

It was breathtaking. Made of solid gold, decorated in silk bunting and jeweled flowers.

The floors glittered with what looked to be crushed gems imbedded in the marble.

The pavilion was filled with beautifully-dressed gentry, fluttering from sweet table to sweet table. The princes joined in, though Prince Frank threw a look backwards toward where she stood. They mingled with the gentry, laughing, popping candies into their mouths.

It was such a gorgeous scene.

Nancy was a practical girl, but no one could look upon such magic without wonder.

She hid herself by a diamond statue of a blind king before it occurred to her she had the Marvin family cloak and she could walk where she wished.

 **~NN~**

Ned closed his eyes against the glare of the pavilion's shimmering lights. Leaned back on a pillar. He felt it shimmer against his back, unreal and magical.

He bit his cheek.

He knew she was coming.

He knew; she would drain a little more life out of him tonight.

 _A little more..._ a little more and Ned would soon be gone.

There was nothing he could do. He couldn't tell anyone about it or they would drain Frank next. They would work down the line.

Well, if so, Frank would make a good king.

Somehow that wasn't overly comforting.

 **~NN~**

She counted the princes, and found Biff slapping Phil on the shoulder, Chet with an overflowing platter at a sweet table, Tony smiling at a girl in a gorgeous gown, Bert and Dave laughing at something an older-looking gentleman was saying, and Frank cooly taking the whole scene in. Joe actually looked nervous, or concerned or the like. And...where was the crown prince, Edward?

Nancy's gaze scanned the pavilion. Ah! There he is, she thought. With more curiosity than alarm she realize he looked ill. Pale, leaning up against a pillar. He didn't look interested in the food at all, unlike his brothers.

She was about to explore the other end of the pavilion when the enormous doors of the palace flung open and...what could only be a fairy glided out, followed by perhaps a hundred others.

 **~NN~**

Ned's stomach roiled. He rubbed a hand over his face.

Joe shot him a concerned, perplexed look, and Ned smiled. It felt dull, but Joe seemed satisfied.

The fairies gracefully swarmed the pavilion, and the queen glided towards him. Her ice-blue eyes glittered with an inhuman coldness and her smile was cruel.

He pushed himself off of the pillar and braced himself. Again.

 **~NN~**

 _Definitely fairies,_ Nancy thought. Hannah, the Drews' cook, had told her many stories about fairies when she was younger. _"They are unkind creatures,"_ Hannah had said. They were small, delicate; far shorter than the average man, but some were as tall as she. Their wings glimmered like amber and jade and opal. Beautiful. But...unkind. The way Hannah had said it made "unkind" the equivalent of "wicked."

A fairy, so gorgeously dressed she had to be someone of significance, fluttered to Prince Edward. She leaned in to whisper something to him and he bowed, said something back, and held out his hand. Nancy could have imagined it, but the hand seemed to tremble. Just a little.

The fairy took the possibly-shaking hand, and the center of the pavilion cleared.

Music, slow, seeping music, started and then the pair was dancing. Prince Edward was a good dancer, Nancy thought. If he didn't look so painfully numb, and if Hannah's words weren't echoing in her head, it would have been a pretty sight.

Nancy recounted the princes again and realized that they didn't seem to see that their eldest brother was dancing.

Not even the princes Frank and Joe noticed, and they seemed to notice everything.

Something was wrong here.

And...this dance wasn't ending.

 **~NN~**

Ned could feel it, just as he had the other nights. She was _killing_ him. Slowly.

As he spun the fairy queen, he knew. He knew that he had a few days, at the most. Maybe a week.

The fairy queen smiled as he pulled her back from the twirl.

"They cannot see you," she purred.

"I know."

"And you know the only way anyone could..." She cocked her head.

The music pushed and pulled.

"There are other ways."

"Mhmmm. You are bluffing, my dear Prince. I do think you have given up hope. But I admire your loyalty to your brothers. It's sweet."

* * *

Let me know if you are still enjoying! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Nancy knew something was off, but she didn't know how she could fix it. Or maybe nothing was off and she was projecting her desire for mystery on the situation. _"Unlikely,"_ she decided. Something was definitely wrong.

She needed to talk to Hannah.

She would talk to Hannah and follow the princes the next night, she determined.

 **~NN~**

When the dance _was_ finally over, Ned felt lightheaded. When the night wound down and he and his eight younger brothers finally rowed back - Chet complained of an extra weight in his boat, but nobody paid much mind - Ned could only think of how many days he had left.

Not many.

Even once they were all in their chambers, he debated with himself over what he could - should - do. When he heard a peculiar creak in the main room and left his bed to check, he still thought of his options. When, with a small amount of alarm, he discovered the door to the hall open, he simply shut it and went back to his bedchamber instead of investigating. He was far too distracted tonight.

Maybe he should tell Frank of the fairies' desire to wreak quiet revenge on them; maybe together they could come up with something. After all, there was no guarantee that the fairies wouldn't just take Frank anyway. Or Joe. Or all of them.

 _Why_ did they have to have accidentally discovered the passageway? Why did they have to drop that scepter over that flagstone? Luck was too cruel. Somehow, had the fairies' wrath been deep-rooted, long-festering, and ancient, he could have accepted it better.

But it was _his fault,_ and that stung. Had he shot down Biff's and Phil's enthusiastic ideas to discover what was down there, they - he - would be fine. But he hadn't. Frank and Joe had been the oddly cautious ones in the situation, and _he_ had told them, "What's the harm?"

Perhaps he deserved this.

 **~NN~**

The next morning, Nancy explained to Queen Laura that she needed to go to her father's for a few hours but she would be back by early evening. The queen generously made appropriate arrangements and Nancy was soon telling Hannah her plight and all that she had seen.

"Ah," Hannah said, like she understood perfectly. "Yes. The fairies would love to destroy the crown prince. All of the princes, for that matter. They know no limits in their thirst for destruction." She gently patted Nancy's cheek. "I would tell you to stay away, but I know you better than that to think you would listen."

Nancy smiled.

Hannah did know her well.

"But what can I _do?"_ she persisted. "The crown prince looks so...so ill. And that fairy who danced with him was certainly up to no good. How do I defeat them?"

Hannah shook her head, trying not to smile - though her eyes were serious. "Maybe you cannot, dear. But if you can, if it _is_ in your power, no old tale is going to tell you how to do it. You have to discover it yourself."

And deep down in her gut, Nancy knew she was right.

 **~NN~**

The whole ride home Nancy kept thinking about how pale Prince Edward had looked. And what if she couldn't save him?

What if...maybe she should tell the queen.

But somehow, she didn't feel like she could tell the queen just yet. What if that fairy _wasn't_ forcing the prince to do anything? She hadn't seen enough to make that judgment yet.

 **~NN~**

They were going again tonight.

Ned knew that his brothers were compelled to, by some evil magic of those fairies; they would go, for their heads and feet would carry them there, and they would be glad of it.

But he...he was not compelled by any magic. Only the knowledge that if he didn't, they would have his brothers, one by one.

He didn't have a choice.

He clamped his mouth shut and stepped into the halls.

That new maid, the one with the titan-colored hair that Mother had just hired, was leaning up against a wall with a blank expression on her face. Then he realized that look wasn't a blank stare - it was a look of intense concentration.

It was rather frightening, actually.

Although, to be fair, he was probably just on edge from the whole slowly-being-killed-by-a-fairy-in-the-magical-basement thing.

"Are you lost?" he asked her, though he was sure her answer would be a "no."

"A little," she murmured. Then she shook her head, more to herself than to him. Her sharp eyes narrowed at him. "Oh, your Highness, pardon me." She curtsied, smiling, not the least bit self-conscious about the fact that she'd been loitering in his hallway.

Ned shook his head, smiling back. "No, no - it's fine."

He had an odd urge to shake her hand, but thought better of it.

"So..." he said after moment, "you _are_ lost?"

"Oh, no - not lost like _that._ I just have a problem I cannot seem to solve, but I believe the answer will come to me soon enough."

"I hope it does," Ned said, wanting to ask her more but knowing it was none of his business - wait, maybe it _was_ his business. This was his home, after all. And he was the crown prince. But somehow prying didn't seem like the right thing to do, so he gave a little bow and wished her luck, then he headed off for a short walk in the gardens before sunset.

 **~NN~**

As Prince Edward walked away, Nancy felt a flash of something that almost felt like inspiration, through it had no form or name.

She decided not to tell the queen yet.

She might come to regret that decision, but she just couldn't tell her yet.

She had sleuthing to do tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

Ned returned from the gardens to find his brothers in their center chamber, waiting.

The room was snug. Safe. Golden. His younger brothers were laughing and pulling on the new boots Mother had just given them.

He felt none of the warmth. None of it. He _ached._

"You all right?" Frank asked.

Ned avoided the question.

"You look...tired...?" Joe offered.

Ned cleared his throat.

"Hey, it's time to go!" Tony grinned, opening the magic flagstone with the scepter as he pulled on his second boot.

They were so happy. So innocently happy. So full of abundant hope.

Ned looked each of his eight brothers in the eye. Decided again what he had already decided.

"Yes," he answered. Smiled weakly. "I suppose it is."

 **~NN~**

Nancy - sheltered in the House of Marvin cloak - followed them in the same fashion as the night before. She could have easily slipped into Prince Chet's boat again, but something drew her to the boat at the lead - the boat of the crown prince.

She slipped in, and while the prince's brow furrowed, he made no comment about the added weight. _Perhaps he's thinking they should have paid Prince Chet's exclamations more mind,_ she thought, smiling to herself.

But then Prince Edward muttered to himself: "I didn't think I lost _that_ much strength..."

And the puzzle pieces started clicking together in her mind.

 **~NN~**

He was weakening faster than he had thought.

He could still row himself fine, but there was no mistaking the difference between last night and tonight. It was almost as if another person was in the boat this time. A relatively light person - as in, not one of his well-built, hardy brothers - but still, a person. A twist of fear melted into despair as he thought of his nonexistent options.

How much time did he have left? Could he even make it to the end of the week? Maybe two nights. Maybe tomorrow night would be it.

He was going to have to die.

He just hoped he could die like a would-be king.

 ** **~NN~****

As Nancy watched a repeat of the dance from last night, she finally decided she was right.

For certain.

Nancy could finally pinpoint the emotion - or the lack thereof - torturing Prince Edward.

 _That was it._

The crown prince had no hope. Not a drop of it.

Hopelessness, complete and utterly resigned, was written in the firm lines of his face - in the way he walked (like he was carrying something on his shoulders), in the way he had rowed the boat, in the way he didn't even turn to any of his brothers when that fairy queen sauntered over again, an even more triumphant look in her icy smile.

Nancy watched the dance with even more discomfort than the night before.

She found herself edging closer.

And maybe she shouldn't have.

But it bothered her, the way he had given up hope.

It truly bothered her, deep in her soul; and that in itself was startling. She usually could look at the world with interest and enjoyment without...feeling like _this._ She didn't even know what it was.

It was a pain.

Pity.

It was probably pity.

Yes! Pity.

But still.

She got closer, moving to the music. It was violin music - the type that wrapped around one's heart and made the body move to the heartbeat. It was ironic, she thought, to be surrounded by such gorgeous rhythm while watching that fiendish fairy queen drain the life out the Prince.

The fairy queen and Prince Edward were swaying slower now; slow enough that Nancy could have reached out and touched them.

Which was silly, of course.

That would be a silly thing to do.

Of course.

But, truth be told, something inside her _wanted_ to.

She reached out.

She reached out, and carefully brushed the back of his hand with hers.

Somehow, _somehow,_ it seemed like the most logical thing to do at that moment.

It felt like that was the best thing she could do for him right now.

He couldn't see her, she knew; but she could tell that he felt it, because he bristled. No, no - not _bristled._ Stiffened. Like he'd been struck by very tiny bolts of lightning.

Then he seemed to relax, just a little. Like something - a small something, but something - stopped hurting inside him.

And she...she felt warm. And despite what was going on, she felt _happy._

 ** **~NN~****

Ned felt something brush his hand.

It was light, gentle - and it had to have been his imagination.

Desperation for comfort.

But somehow, he didn't feel numb anymore. He didn't hurt as much. For just a second, he almost...felt hope. Like, perhaps, he wasn't doomed.

Irrational, dangerous hope.

Which made no sense whatsoever.

The fairy queen must have sensed the shift, because she pulled him a little closer and dragged her nails over his cheek.

"Well," the queen muttered.

"Hmmm?" He tried not to react outwardly to her touch. Inside, he was dying again - fighting to hold on to that feeling of hope.

It was difficult.

But he had to try.

"Queen Deirdre - " he began, but stopped as her nails dug into his cheek so hard they drew blood.

"Uh-uh," she snarled. "It's still 'Your Majesty' to you, Prince. And no, I will not let you go free. Not for any price. Look at my palace! I don't need money; I want you _dead._ Unless, of course..." she trailed off pointedly, brows arched.

That hope was slipping away from Ned more and more by the second.

 _"No,"_ he murmured.

 ** **~NN~****

Nancy saw that witch of a fairy draw blood.

She saw the crown prince's eyes flame and and then flicker with the will to fight.

All right, then. That fairy queen was killing him. How could she stop it?

There had to be a way.

There always was, after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** A very special thanks to my sister #1, ARS, for making me continue when I needed serious motivation. Love you, sis! :)

* * *

The next evening, Nancy wandered around Queen Laura's gardens, wearing her loose grey gown and frowning in concentration.

It was a lovely evening.

The twilight was softly coming on, and the leaves of the fruit trees gleamed an almost orange color in the day's last scrap of sunlight.

Nancy only noticed this in the back of her mind as she walked the neat gravel pathways; her most prominent thought was the mystery of the Prince's entrapment.

What should she do?

What _could_ she do?

Quiet footsteps sounded behind her. She turned, startled from her musings.

It was Prince Edward.

 _Of course it is,_ she thought solemnly.

She curtsied. "Your Highness," she murmured.

The prince give her a half-smile after the formalities of greeting. "I didn't get your name last night."

Nancy quirked an eyebrow. He cared to know? "Nancy," she answered, careful to leave "of the House of Drew" out, for fear that he'd make the connection to her scout father. Her cover as a maid would be blown right away if he knew she was a Drew. Not Royal, but certainly renowned.

He nodded. "Nancy," he murmured, more to him self than anything. He looked as though he would take his leave, but then a peculiar light flashed behind his eyes.

"I know this is an unusual request...but would you mind walking with me? In sight of the palace, of course, and we needn't speak if you don't wish to - " He blushed in the fading light. "I'm sorry, I..." He glanced upward. "I don't want to be alone right now. And I know that doesn't make sense, but..."

"I'll walk with you," Nancy said, even as her mind raced through a thousand different ways she might be able to stop the evil fairy queen. None of them sounded like they would work.

But she could walk with him.

He looked, frankly, rather surprised she agreed to walk with him.

In silence they continued down the path.

Finally, whether it was disrespectful or not, Nancy had to speak. "Prince Edward - " she began.

"Prince Ned," he interjected - for the first time that evening, he was truly smiling.

She gave him a sideways look and nodded.

"Prince Ned..." This time she trailed off of her own accord.

What could she say?

 _"You look absolutely hopeless...!"_

 _"You look pale?"_

 _"How's it going, what with the whole being enchanted and/or slowly murdered deal?"_

None of that would help.

She just hook her head and gave him an apologetic smile instead.

 **~NN~**

Ned found himself smiling. Just a little bit, but it was _real._ Not the fake ones he gave the wretched fairy queen, not the pained ones he gave Frank and Joe when they caught him in a mood of despondency, not the exerting ones he gave his mother in vain attempts to convince her all was well.

Real smiles.

He had forgotten how they even felt. Life-giving.

That aside, he hadn't expected her - Nancy - to agree to walk with him. He knew it was an odd request, but he had to ask. He somehow...he wanted her close. She was an unusual maid. Borderline audacious, but so innocently confident in her right to be there he couldn't do anything but go with it.

It was well into twilight now, and darkness would be here shortly. Nancy had trailed off, and seemingly had no intention of continuing, so he decided he had to say something.

"So have you solved your problem?" he asked, rather unceremoniously, as they passed the shadowed, blossoming pear trees.

"Oh, well..." she looked pointedly away. "Perhaps. It's a difficult problem. There's always a way, though, don't you think?"

Here she looked at him - right at him - and Ned had to catch his breath.

"I don't know," he said softly, stopping along the path. "Sometimes...sometimes...I think you just have to accept your fate and get on with it the best you can."

In the dark of the evening, a light passed behind the eyes of the titan-haired beauty (for whatever else she was, she certainly was a beauty), and then the light sharpened into something fierce. "No," she declared. "No! You have to fight - we are not made for defeat. If one door closes, another opens. That's just the way it is!"

She spoke with such conviction that Ned was taken aback.

Her confidence almost, _almost,_ made him believe in her words, too.

Almost.

 **~NN~**

Yes, the lack of hope.

Nancy saw it - raw and bleeding and festering.

The lack of hope was a deadly thing.

A deadly, deadly thing.

How could she combat that?

Maybe it wasn't even her job. She wasn't brought on to give him hope or even to save him from the fairy queen - her job was to discover where they were going, and technically she had fulfilled the requirements.

But oh, she wanted to see this through. To the...to the end.

"You are not made for defeat, Prince Ned. _You are not made for defeat."_

 **~NN~**

Nancy couldn't know what he was going through, but those words warmed Ned from the inside out.

Ned knew that his brothers were preparing for the night's festivities, so he reluctantly steered their steps towards the palace. "Thank you, Nancy."

She smiled, a bright, brilliant smile - and he couldn't help himself.

He reached out and lightly squeezed her hand. She gave pause.

Then she straightened and offered a delayed curtsy. "Thank you, Prince Ned, for allowing me to accompany you on your walk."

"No, thank you. Truly, thank you." He shook his head slightly. "I am indebted to you."

He gave a quick half-bow and started to walk away, before she could come up with a reply that would make him realize just how untoward he was behaving, but then he turned back to her and gave her a small but real smile.

"Nancy?"

"Yes, Prince Ned?"

"It's just 'Ned' to you."

He turned again, but not before he caught her smile.

* * *

 **Please review! :)**


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